Zócalo Group town square blog

Ideas, insights & Inspiration that drive recommendations.

Jan02

Square Smarts: News in Review

How Much Time Do We Really Spend on Facebook?

A new report released by comScore shows just how addicted the world is to social networking and Facebook. 1 out of every 7 minutes online is spent on Facebook globally. In terms of social networking sites, 3 out of every 4 minutes are spent on Facebook globally. However Facebook didn’t receive all the attention, Twitter’s user base increased 59% in 2011 and hit 1 in 10 web users worldwide. Lastly, users worldwide dedicated 35% more time on social networking sites. Who is really surprised by this information? [via mashable.com]

A Dispute over Who Owns a Twitter Account Goes to Court

A former employee of PhoneDog Media L.L.C. is being sued by the company because PhoneDog believes the ex-employee’s Twitter followers constitute a customer list. Noah Kravitz created the handle @Phonedog_Noah when he joined the company. When he left the company, Noah had 17,000 followers. PhoneDog allowed Kravitz to keep his Twitter handle as long as he tweeted periodically about the company. However, Kravitz decided to change his username to @NoahKravitz. Eight months later, PhoneDog filed a lawsuit against Noah totaling $340,000 ($2.50 a follower x 17,000 followers x 8 months). This case should be an important one to “follow” because it will impact social media account ownership and establish the cost of a Twitter follower. [via nytimes.com]

Facebook Timeline vs. Old Profiles: How People View Them Differently

Mashable and EyeTrackShop have teamed up once again to track eye movements before and after the redesign of Facebook and Twitter. They found that when viewing a Facebook timeline, users look at the cover-photo first. However the profile picture is viewed longer than the cover photo. In terms of the new version of Twitter, participants view the “who to follow” section first instead of going straight to tweets. [via mashable.com]